The Trojan Times
St. Maria Goretti Catholic School September 27, 2020
Mission Statement
St. Maria Goretti is a living testament to our Lord's work in His youngest disciples, exemplified by academic excellence, spiritual formation, and compassionate service to others.
St. Maria Goretti Catholic School aims to form what is True, Good, and Beautiful in the souls of our young disciples of Christ.
Principal's Message
Dear St. Maria Goretti Catholic School Families,
I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful Sunday!
Information was sent home the Friday before last about the Empowering God's Children program which will be covered during K - 8 religion classes this week. If you did not receive the information or have questions, please call the front office. Only parents choosing to Opt-out of having their student(s) participate in the program needed to send the completed and signed Opt-out form back.
Last Friday, I sent information regarding updated guidelines for face coverings/masks. Beginning Monday, students, faculty/staff, and coaches will no longer be permitted to wear face masks with one-way valves, bandanas, or neck gaiters. Only well-fitting disposable or cloth face masks may be worn while on the SMGCS campus. Students who arrive at school with vented face masks or neck gaiters as their form of face covering will be asked to remove the covering and given a disposable mask to wear while on campus. Please refer to the email for additional information, including studies/reports supporting this change, or let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for your understanding!
We are only two weeks away from the Kountry Karnival Raffle Drawing!! Our development coordinator, Laura Perez, has done a fantastic job of moving the annual Kountry Karnival Raffle to a virtual raffle format with two fantastic prizes (see ad below for details)! As you know, the Kountry Karnival is one of the school's largest fundraisers of the year. Since we are unable to host the event this year, your support by purchasing tickets and promoting the raffle to friends and family is vital to helping us reach our goal! If families purchased three tickets for each of their students, we would easily reach our goal. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking on the link below (above the KK Raffle ad), after all weekend Masses, or by contacting Mrs. Perez at the school (development@smgschool.org).
Finally, if your student(s) enjoy our lunch program, please be sure to order lunches for the week by 3:00PM today! Please see further below in this newsletter for the link to order and for more information. As well, some of our students are regular "frequent flyers" to the front office or the nurse's office asking for a bottle of water, especially on days when they have PE. Please be sure that your student(s) brings enough water/water bottles to last the entire day. We do not keep a heavy supply of water bottles on hand and are unable to regularly provide water bottles to students. Thank you!
Have a great week and may God continue to bless you and your families.
St. Maria Goretti, Pray for Us!
Blessings,
Laura Behee, M.Ed.
Principal
October 4th Kountry Karnival Raffle Drawing!
Though we are unable to host the Kountry Karnival this year, we are keeping the Karnival alive in spirit by continuing the long-standing tradition of the Kountry Karnival Raffle. This year’s prizes include a beautiful diamond ring valued at over $10,000, and an outdoor kitchen valued at $5000! Tickets are $25 each, or 5 tickets for $100, and are available for purchase online (see link below) and after all Masses this weekend and the weekends leading up to the big drawing on Sunday October 4th! Please consider supporting our wonderful Catholic school and purchase your tickets today!
SPIRIT Hours
Volunteer Hour Policy-
We will be continuing with our SPIRIT Hour policy from last year. In the absence of Kountry Karnival, we will be working to find other ways that families can earn hours. Opportunities will be communicated via emailed SPIRIT Updates, the Trojan Times, and on our website.
All SMG families must complete 40 hours (20 hours by December 18, 2020, and 20 hours by May 14, 2021). Otherwise, $400 per family will be billed ($200 in January and $200 in May). You are only charged for the hours you did not complete. For example, if you complete 19 hours by December 18, 2020, you will only be charged for the one hour you did not complete.
Volunteer Opportunities-
- Kountry Karnival Mobile Raffle Sales- volunteers are needed to sell raffle tickets after upcoming Masses. Please click the link to see if you can help!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0448ada622a5fe3-kkmobile
- Room Coordinators- many homerooms still need volunteers. Room Coordinators work with the SPIRIT Coordinator and homeroom teacher to help make class and school events successful, and communicate with their homeroom families. Guidance will be provided. Parents whose students are distance learning are encouraged to sign up as well! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Follett Book Fair is Coming to SMGCS!!
Spring Creek Spirit/Dine-Out Night - October 14th!
SMG School Club Opportunities
Youth Choir - 3rd-8th Grade Students
Drama Club - 5th-8th Grade Students
Rubik's Cube Club - Come Join the Fun During Recess
- 4th-5th grade: 12:29-12:49
- 6th-8th grade: 12:09-12:29
Solve the Rubik Cube and work to make a Rubik mosaic.
Email Mrs. Utendorf at autendorf@smgschool.org
Miscellaneous Information
NEW: Lunch Orders Must be Placed Sunday for the Entire Week
A parent text alert was sent Thursday with news of new lunch order procedures. Beginning this week, lunch orders must be placed for the entire week (Monday through Friday) by Sunday at 3:00pm. We cannot accept orders placed after the Sunday deadline.
We will continue to text families on Thursday afternoon/evening each week, which will allow parents/students to place lunch orders for the upcoming week. The link is also available on the school website and will continue in the weekly Trojan Times. The form has a link with the menu attached as well.
Click below for the order form:
The 2019-2020 Yearbooks have Arrived!
If you did not purchase a 2019-2020 Yearbook, there are still some available! Yearbooks are $30.00 each. Please see Mrs. Malloy in the front office for more information.
Back To School Night Video!
In an effort to keep everyone safe and to adhere to the protocols we have put in place related to COVID-19, we were unable to welcome parents to campus this year for the annual Back to School Night. Instead, we have put together a Back to School Night video on YouTube, which includes links from each teacher with information about their classes. Please follow the link below to view the video. Be sure to "Like" and comment on the video if you enjoy it, as well as subscribe to our YouTube channel and turn on notifications to see upcoming videos. Welcome Back!
Arrival & Dismissal Procedures
School Day Schedule and Arrival/Dismissal Procedures
Morning Arrival and Afternoon Dismissal moved along fairly well last week, considering all of the protocols and procedures we have put in place related to COVID-19. Please remember: 1.) ALL students (PK - 8th) must be dropped off in the morning using the morning carline in the back (west) parking lot; 2.) Parents/guardians may not enter the building to walk their students to the classroom. We will again have our Junior High Safety Patrol students and plenty of faculty/staff in the back lot during carline to walk little ones to their classrooms. Please understand, this is in an effort to limit the number of people entering and moving through the building for the safety of all our students, faculty, and staff; and 3.) Parents/guardians must download the Healthy Together app on their cell phone. Parents/guardians must show the completed screening to car line personnel each morning before their children will be allowed out of the car to enter the school.
The entire arrival and dismissal procedures can be found on the link below and is also outlined in the SMG Family Handbook, which is now available on the school website. Please Note: There may be changes to the Arrival/Dismissal procedures as we begin the school year and adjust to the safety protocols we must adhere to due to COVID-19. Any necessary changes to the Arrival/Dismissal procedures will of course be communicated to parents.
Arrival/Dismissal Procedures: https://smgschool.org/documents/2020/8/Arrival%20%20Dismissal%20During%20COVID%20%20Addendum.pdf
Healthy Together App
By now, most have downloaded the free Healthy Together app (found in the App Store). Please continue to complete the app before arriving in carline and be ready to show the completed screening to a faculty/staff member on duty in carline each morning. Multiple students can conveniently be added to one app. Please call the front office if you have any questions about how to install the app.
Student Email Accounts and Google Classroom
All students, whether learning On-Campus or via Distance Learning, have school email accounts that they generally access during computer class, and will also need to access Google Classroom. Parents of students in Grades 4th - 8th who are attending classes On-Campus were sent information and instructions for their student(s) to access their email accounts, log-in to Google Classroom, and create a bookmark on their home devices. Students have also be given this information during computer class, as many 4th-8th Grade teachers provide feedback on assignments, etc. to students via Google Classroom. As well, being familiar with logging in to Google Classroom will be helpful should we ever need to move to distance learning during the school year. If you did not receive your student's log-in information or have questions, please contact Mrs. Daly (jdaly@smgschool.org).
As well, please check out the following tutorial for detailed instructions on signing into Google Classroom.
SMG 2020-2021Family Handbook
The 2020-2021 Family Handbook has been updated and has been posted on the school website (http://smgschool.org). Please note, there was an addendum related to COVID-19 placed at the end of the handbook, before the acknowledgement page. Please be sure to read the handbook then print, sign, and return the acknowledgement form at the back of the handbook indicating that you have read and understand the handbook. A signed acknowledgement form from each family was due back to the school last Friday, August 28th. If you have not yet returned your signed acknowledgement form, please do so as soon as possible.
2020-2021 Academic Calendar
Please click on the following link to view the 2020-2021 Academic Calendar. It can also be found on the school website at smgschool.org.
https://smgschool.org/documents/2020/5/SMG%202020-2021%20Academic%20Calendar%202.pdf
COVID-19: Safety Procedures and Protocols
Please see the SMG Safe Return to School plan that was sent to all school families last week, by clicking the following link.
Virtus Training
VIRTUS Safe Environment training for volunteers will begin to expire in September 2020. Parent volunteers will need to renew their VIRTUS training in order to continue volunteering. The VIRTUS renewal program is called "Keeping the Promise Alive" and must be attended in order to keep Safe Environment status current. Our school Safe Environment coordinator will email parents with information for how to register for a renewal session. Please email smalloy@smgschool.org with any questions.
Box Tops - Earn Money for SMG!
Box Tops makes it easy for families to earn cash for schools and help teachers get the supplies they need. Traditional Box Tops clips are being phased out of production, but may continue to be found on many products throughout the store. Although you may still clip coupons, there is a NEW and EASY method:
- Create a Box Tops for Education account via the Box Tops app or website - View the video: How it Works, Join For Free
- Buy Box Top Products
- Use your app to scan the store receipt within 14 days of purchase -View the video: How to Scan
2020-2021 Enrollment & Registration
Registration & Enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year can be found on our school website. There are still spots available at most grade-levels. As a reminder, tuition assistance is available and we are committed to making a Catholic education a reality for any family who wishes one for their child(ren). Please contact Mrs. Behee (lbehee@smgschool) or our Registrar, Mrs. de la Pena (jdelapena@smgschool.org) with any questions or concerns.
Last Week at SMG.....
PreK
This week we had Bible journal time and Science outside. We drew in our journals all the things we saw outside that God created. Our book of the week was Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons! We used our own groovy buttons to practice sorting and counting during math.
Kindergarten - Computer Parts
KB Making Patterns With Things in Nature
KB Matching Numerals and 15 Frames
First Grade - Distance Learners
Kindergarten Distance Learner: Learning About the Rosary
Mrs. Girton's Distance Learners on a Letter Scavenger Hunt
Second Grade - Charlotte's Web
Second Grade Junior Engineers
Junior engineers in second grade built towers and bridges as part of our Science unit “Constructing with Solids”.
Third Grade Vocabulary Fun
Fourth Grade Science: Stream Bed Experiment
In this activity, students use a stream table to compare the differences in how a river flows through two different landscapes. The differences and similarities between the two landscapes will depend on several variables: speed of the water, topographical features, degree of inclined plane, etc. Although the formation of the “rivers” in this activity appeared very quickly, in reality rivers can take millions to billions of years to form a path from land to sea.
https://www.sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/stream-table/
Rubik Cube Club in Action
~Erno Rubik
SMG Hallway Happenings
Spanish: El Barcho Chiquito
Have you ever heard of a boat too tiny to sail? That’s the case in this catchy, traditional Spanish children’s song. The song teaches children to count in Spanish as 1, 2, 3, ….7 weeks go by and still the tiny boat can’t sail.
SMG Kindergarten through second grade students made their own tiny boat and gave it a name.
Fifth Grade: Solar Energy at Work
Seventh Grade: Haiku - The Nature of 5-7-5
A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.
Haiku began in thirteenth-century Japan as the opening phrase of renga, an oral poem, generally a hundred stanzas long, which was also composed syllabically. The much shorter haiku broke away from renga in the sixteenth century and was mastered a century later by Matsuo Basho, who wrote this classic haiku: https://poets.org/glossary/haiku
An old pond!
A frog jumps in—
the sound of water.
Enjoy these haikus written by SMJ junior high students.
Eighth Grade: The Song of Hiawatha
'I have at length hit upon a plan for a poem on the American Indians, It is to weave together their beautiful traditions into a whole…'
And so Henry Wadsworth Longfellow declared his intention to record the deeds of Hiawatha, a legendary Native American hero. Along with many of his readers, Longfellow was passionately interested in Native Americans and was well versed in their folklore.
As literature, The Song of Hiawatha may best be described as an epic poem. Epic poems are typically about the deeds of a great hero who represents the ideals of a nation or group of people. https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-song-of-hiawatha-by-henry-wadsworth-longfellow-summary-analysis.html
Calendar Notes
- Monday, 9/28-Friday,10/16: Follett Online Book Fair
- Sunday, 10/4: Kountry Karnival 2020 Raffle Drawing
- Friday, 10/9: 1st Quarter Ends
- Monday, 10/12: 2nd Quarter Begins
- Monday,10/12-Friday, 10/15: Follett In-Person Book Fair - watch for more information
- Wednesday, 10/14: Picture Make-Up Day (individual yearbook pictures)
- Thursday, 10/15: Early Dismissal at 12:15PM - No Lunch Service - Parent Teacher Conferences 1:00PM-7:00PM
- Friday, 10/16: No School, No SMEED; Professional Development for Faculty/Staff
- Friday, 11/13: Early Dismissal at 12:10PM - No Lunch Service - Progress Reports Emailed to Parents
- Monday, 11/23-Friday, 11/27: Thanksgiving Holiday - No School
Need Prayers?
We all do!! The St. Maria Goretti Catholic School Community would love to pray for you and your intentions. Please send all prayer requests to: smgprays4u@smgschool.org.
Meet Our Priests!
St. Maria Goretti Parish Website: https://www.smgparish.org/
Fr. Jim Angert, T.O.R.
Fr. Mike Ciski, T.O.R.
Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth
Serving the North Texas Catholic community by providing the faithful opportunities to grow in Christian discipleship and strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Like Us on Face Book!
We are hoping to update our official Facebook page with some more recent, positive reviews, likes, and shares. Please visit our official Facebook page (Facebook@StMariaGorettiArlington) and help us spread the word about our great Catholic school!
St. Maria Goretti Catholic School
Email: development@smgschool.org
Website: https://smgschool.org
Location: 1200 South Davis Drive, Arlington, TX, USA
Phone: (817)275-5081
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StMariaGorettiArlington/